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Bruichladdich 1986 / 30 Sherry: The Magnificent Seven

Whisky Review

What they say

A dram with a history and a backstory that will be hard to beat, our 1986/30 is made up of our very last seven casks of ‘86 spirit.

Ultra-rare. This is our elegant, floral Bruichladdich with intense, full-term sherry maturation. First filled into Oloroso butts in 1986, this spirit lay untouched in our loch-side warehouses until 2012 [already 26 years old], when our then Master Distiller Jim McEwan decided to supercharge this sublime single malt by filling it into our privileged parcel of Pedro Ximinez butts from winemaker Jan Pettersen at bodega Fernando de Castilla.

Limited to 4,200 bottles, the 1986 is bottled at the distillery without chill-filtration or artificial colouring at the natural strength of 44.6% alc. vol.

Taste: The aroma is truly astounding. On the palate the experience raises the bar still further with sweet PX notes, raisins, dried figs, dates, grape sugar. Leather, cigar boxes and Christmas cake. Everything a Sherry matured whisky should be and more. The complexity and balance is retained as the marine freshness and fruity notes of apricot and apple come through from the Bruichladdich DNA.

Overall

Delicious, really nutty and full of chocolate before moving into steamed fruit pudding soaked with rum or sherry. Very Christmas-like. From memory this is only the second Oloroso-matured and PX finished whisky we have knowingly sampled and both were really on the button for me flavour-wise.